Document mq4ZExvyJJg5m0NR8E5EJy720

Electrical Hazards rubber gloves to protect the rubber from me chanical damage and from oil and grease An electrical glove testing service should be provided, with regular testing intervals determined by the amount of use of the gloves, the type of work, and the voltages they are subject to If there is doubt about the insulating quality of the gloves, they should not be used Pnvate testing laboratories can be relied upon for accurate testing In some cases they will keep individual company records on the physical condition of gloves and the time schedule for retesting Where no laboratory is available, small concerns can usually get tests made at the local public utility t Maintenance To be safe and to give the best service, elec tric equipment must be well-maintained Motors, circuit breakers,- moving parts of switches, and similar current-carrying de vices wear out, break down, and need read justments Repairs on electrical circuits and electrical apparatus should be made only by experienced electricians (Fig 33-15) Only high-grade electrical equipment listed as standard by Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc, or other qualified authority, should be used m maintenance work Inferior, unap proved equipment may become hazardous because of defective material or design or poor workmanship If practicable, conductors should be deen ergized when maintenance work on them is necessary Before they begin work, main tenance men should make certain that the line is dead by testing it with the voltage testing devices provided It is not safe to test a circuit with the fingers or with make shift devices The men should be instructed in the use of electrical testing equipment and meters how to tap into the circuit, how to locate testing points from schematic diagrams, how to use insulated meter leads, clips, and probes, and how to fuse test circuits Pliers, screw driv ers, testing lights, and other tools used in electrical repair work should be insulated When maintenance or repair work must be done on energized conductors, it is advisable to have two or more employees work to gether The supervisor should give detailed FlG 33-15 -- In the circle is an exposed electrical connection inside the handle of a portable electnc tool, creating a venous shock hazard This sort of defect should be remedied onls b\ an experienced electncian procedures to be followed He should also see that maintenance crews are supplied with and use the right protective equipment The kind of protective equipment needed will be determined by the type of circuit, the nature of the job, and the conditions under which the work must be done Rubber gloves, sleeves, mats, line hose, insulating platforms, safety headgear, safety glasses, safety belts, fuse tongs, and switch hooks are among the more common items of equipment usually available Safety equipment should be inspected before use and retested at frequent intervals Because of the location of electrical equip ment and circuits, the methods of maintain ing them, and the insulated tools required, the maintenance man must be constantly on guard to prevent accidental grounding Such grounding may result if an energized loose wire comes in contact with water pipe, con duit, metal fixtures, another wire, or anything 1004